Our three tips for Colton Herta to obtain his Super License

This is the saga of fall 2022: Colton Herta, 22, pilot IndyCar for the Andretti team, is at the center of discussions and debates in Formula 1. The American pilot is the X factor of the transfer window for the 2023 season. On the one hand, Alpine would like to acquire Pierre Gasly, coming fromAlpha Tauri, to replace Fernando Alonso.

The other, Red Bull did everything to recover the young Californian talent and place him within the small Italian squadra… but two complications stand in the way of this maneuver. Problem #1: AlphaTauri won't release Gasly without being certain of getting a replacement. And problem n°2: Colton Herta has not yet validated his Super License, essential to race in Formula 1…

Herta, the taste for (not so) simple things…

At the time of writing, Colton Herta has 32 points on his Super License (Nb : Colton Herta finished 7th in IndyCar in 2019 (4 points), 3rd in IndyCar in 2020 (20 points) and 5th in IndyCar in 2021 (8 points). His 10th place in the 2022 championship is not counted since it represents his worst result over the last four years.

ALSO READ > The Super License, how does it work?

To validate your Super License and therefore be able to reach F1, you must obtain 40 points. The American driver is therefore 8 units short of entering the premier category of motorsport in 2023, but time is running out... If Red Bull has worked body and soul to offer Colton Herta the opportunity to validate his Super License, the deal is far from being an easy thing. There are currently four ways for the native of Santa Clarita (California) to obtain the precious sesame.

Participate in Free Practice 1 sessions

To glean a few points, the most logical and coherent solution would be for Red Bull or AlphaTauri to have Colton Herta participate in Free Practice 1 sessions. According to the regulations dictated by the FIA, a holder of a “Super Test License Free” (awarded from 25 points) will be awarded an additional point if he has successfully covered at least 100 km during a free practice session, provided that no penalty points have been imposed on him . At most, a driver can earn a total of 10 additional points over a season. 

Now that the IndyCar season is over, Colton Herta will have plenty of availability to travel to each F1 race weekend. Red Bull could therefore decide to place him in several EL1 sessions in the last Grands Prix of the year. Moreover, Franz Tost declared that AlphaTauri was ready to run the American if necessary. “For our part, we will support him, of course. If it is necessary to run him in the EL then we will do it. »

However, this solution would not be enough, since there are only 6 Grands Prix left on the calendar (Singapore, Japan, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Abu Dhabi). If he successfully participates in all Free Practice 1 sessions, Herta could claim a maximum of 6 points, which would increase his total to 38 points. We would then have to look for our last two points elsewhere…

Compete in Indian Regional Formula

This is probably the craziest idea and yet it is the one that seems the most effective. If Colton Herta wants to obtain the missing points for his Super License, the ideal would be to obtain them on the track. One of the rare championships which takes place at the end of the year and which could give enough points to the Californian driver would be... the Indian Regional Formula. 

On paper, everything could meet the requirements: the championship takes place from November 10 to December 11, in 5 rounds (including one on the Buddh International Circuit, which hosted F1 between 2011 and 2013). The champion also wins 18 points on his Super License, the vice-champion pockets 14 points and the third earns 12 points. This will be the first time that the Indian Formula Regional awards points for the Super License since it is now recognized and affiliated with the FIA.

Colton Herta could then take a step back by riding with Formula 3 to obtain your Super License even before the end of the 2022 calendar year. The question that arises is: is participation in the Indian Regional Formula possible? If Red Bull or anyone else is determined to give Herta the opportunity to obtain the famous document on the track, there would be no contraindication to his arrival in the Indian championship. For the organizers, looking for visibility for this young competition, it would also be a godsend to see the involvement of Herta and/or Red Bull this year...

Obtain an exemption from the FIA

Last solution for Red Bull and for Colton Herta: request an exemption from the FIA. In the regulations, an exception is allowed to obtain the Super License without having pocketed the necessary 40 points. If a driver has a minimum of 30 points, the FIA ​​alone can decide whether or not the document can be granted. In this case, the FIA ​​must judge that the driver was unable to reach 40 points because of “circumstances beyond its control or reasons of force majeure. »

It is on this part of the regulations that the Red Bull leaders based their argument. According to them, IndyCar is too devalued compared to other championships (Formula 2, Formula 3) given the difficulty of the American competition and the variety of circuits (ovals, urban and road). 

At the level of Formula 1 and the FIA, the trend is not in favor of such a process. Same story with the other teams, as we saw during the recent Spa-Zandvoort-Monza triplet. 

If on the one hand, F1 would like the arrival of an American driver on the grid in 2023, in an increasingly important and priority market (with 3 Grands Prix in Uncle Sam's country next year) , the federal authorities do not lean towards the American side.

The FIA ​​does not want to call into question its pyramid of access to the Super License, which had been put in place and then revised after a long gestation period in 2016. It is the International Automobile Federation which will have the last word , And she does not seem decided to give a pass to Herta and Red Bull. 

If we ignore Colton Herta's ultimate potential behind the wheel of a car of Grands Prix, we do not see how he would be less qualified than others “ talents » seen on the track in recent years.

ALSO READ > Bryan Herta wants his son Colton to get the Super License 'the fair way'